myYearbook ramping up for more growth with new hire and select collaborators

There’s been plenty of activity at social networking juggernaut myYearbook, the New Hope, Bucks County-based company founded by the teenage brother-and-sister entrepreneurial team of Dave and Catherine Cook. And it appears the wildly popular site, which grew revenues 70 percent to $20 million last year, is setting its sights even higher.

For one, the company recently brought onboard Scott Levine, who most recently led corporate development at Sony Music Entertainment, as senior vice president of business development. The heavy hitter will be responsible for the company’s Currency Connect, a virtual currency exchange among social media companies, and for increasing media partnerships with traditional outlets that can integrate their content through myYearbook.

Most notably, Levine will oversee myYearbook’s newly opened platform that will allow a select group of companies (like Zynga and SGN) to introduce new games on the site. Much of the company’s revenue growth can be attributed to the popularity of the games myYearbook produced in-house, like Blind Date and Owned. At Sony, Levine led new digital business opportunities by cultivating content licensing deals, strategic investments, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions.

“I’m excited in 2010 to grow our audience by focusing on long-term partnerships and viral growth,” says CEO Geoff Cook, the eldest Cook sibling. “With his deep understanding of media and intuitive sense of product, Scott is a terrific addition to our team.”

myYearbook, one of the 30 most-trafficked sites in the U.S., has grown from one high school in New Jersey to more than 20 million members.

Source: Geoff Cook, myYearbook
Writer: Joe Petrucci